Disconnecting

 I was riding my bike down the Kiwanis Rail Trail on my day off and noticed a few things.  The first thing I noticed was the beauty of Fall in Michigan. Then, as I rode along the trail I came across a few people, a jogger, then a walker, and another biker.  All of them were wired for sound.  Music is motivating.  I wont argue with that.  But, I personally enjoy disconnecting from technology temporarily and connecting with nature.  Perhaps it’s my infantile desire to pretend to be Max, king of the Wild Things!  Or maybe I’m just starting to learn that a good life doesn’t have anything to do with gadgets or technology?  Maybe I’m just starting to learn what freedom really is?  Henry David Thoreau said we all live lives of quiet desperation.  We live in debt.  Our homes are anchors.  Our cars are expensive and costly to maintain and operate.  But, in the woods or on the trail I am free.  I wish there were more rail trails like the Kiwanis Trail.  I consider the few alternatives to automotive transportation.  I wonder how I can ride my bike from my house to Heritage Park without getting run over by careless or impatient drivers.  I wonder how I can ride from my house to Hidden Lake Gardens without riding on the freeway?  Edward Abbey, author of Desert Solitaire, pointed out that our Parks are for everyone, but where does it say that they are for everyone in cars?  Who decided that Americans should not have an alternative to the automobile?  When did Americans become so afraid of the unknown?  When did we lose our spirit of adventure?  Who put corporate American in charge of my life?  My message to them is that I chose freedom.  I chose to turn 180 degrees and keep moving forward.  I choose to disconnect.  When I do my eyes and ears are filled with joy.  I see the golden leaves of the Sugar Maple, an acorn, a hickory nut, a stream, a mushroom on a tree.  I hear the faint whispers of the Cedar Waxwing, the chip of a chipmunk, leaves under my feet, the wind in the trees, a rare Field Sparrow.  I notice Crows chasing a Coopers Hawk and a Turkey Vulture circling ominously above.  And, all my stress and worries fall from my soul like leaves from a tree as Muir said they would.